Umatilla Spending Its Time On Passing

Umatilla High School's Joe Harrison is expected to be one of the best running backs in the county next year, but this spring the team is concentrating on its passing.

It's not that the Bulldogs aren't planning to take advantage of Harrison's talents. First-year Coach Brent Bickhart is pleased with the running game. The passing game simply needs work.

''Our strength is our running backs. We're working on the pass so that we can do both,'' Bickhart said.

The running back roles are casted with Harrison at tailback and junior-to- be William Hutto at fullback. Junior-to-be Rodney Torrance is auditioning for the quarterback opening with sophomore-to-be Mark Bolling penciled in as his stand in.

Bickhart is generally pleased with Torrance, who quarterbacked the junior varsity team last season, but he knows that Torrance has a lot of hard work in front of him.

During a team scrimmage Torrance mixed in fumbled snaps and overthrown passes with the completed ones, but Bickhart isn't worried.

''He'll come along. Torrance does just what we tell him to do,'' he said. ''If we asked him to stay out here until 8 o'clock throwing passes he would.'' Harrison, a 6-foot-1 183-pound senior-to-be, will be very busy next fall. He plays tailback, free safety, kicks and punts. He can run 40-yards in 4.6 seconds, speed that netted him over 700 yards last season for a 6.7 average per carry . Bickhart calls him a major-college prospect.

''Joe Harrison is the only kid I ever had who can play every position on the field, plus kick and punt,'' he said.

Harrison will be joined by Hutto at fullback. Hutto, 6-1, 185, started the last part of the season, gaining 268 yards.

An extra opponent the team will have to battle is the specter of last season's team. The team was 1-9 after having to forfeit two games because of an ineligible player, and a controversy developed over players being paid for touchdowns.

''We're going to dump everything from last year. It was really a distraction,'' Bickhart said. ''It might have helped us a little bit though. We overcame the adversity and survived.''

Partly to erase all reminders of last year, Bickhart has kept on his players through the academic year to make sure they cut the grade.

''We're pushing for excellence in the classroom and there has been a decrease in the discipline problems,'' he said. ''We're trying to build the image of the team.''

Bickhart, who was an assistant at Umatilla for two years, was appointed head coach after Byrd Whigham resigned. Bickhart previously served as head coach at Eustis for three years.

The team will return seven starters. The returning offensive starters include Harrison, Hutto, senior-to-be Rob Willets at tackle, junior-to-be Tommy Stonebraker at guard and senior-to-be Donald Rader at tight end.

The returning defensive starters include Harrison at free safety, Rader at defensive end, senior-to-be Tony Ruby at defensive back and senior-to-be Donald Wilder in the secondary.

A new coach means a new system. The team has been scrimmaging twice a week to get Bickhart's down.

''The kids are picking up the system pretty well,'' he said. ''They're learning an awful lot in a hurry.''